RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty has joined The Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM).

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Have you been hearing that it’s a buyer’s market?  Take a look at local home prices.  Have you been told that there’s no time like the present to plan your retirement?  Again, take a look at those prices, and then think about investing for your future.

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You’ve undoubtedly been hearing and reading about the “subprime lending crisis” hitting the real estate industry.  The bottom line for buyers is that it may be more difficult to secure a mortgage in this atmosphere.  It then follows that demand for rentals may increase.

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Let’s plant two “money trees” and watch their growth. We’ll plant the first by placing $20,000 in a savings account earning 5% interest, and leave it there for five years. After five years, we’ll withdraw our initial investment ($20,000) plus the interest ($5,525). We invested $20,000 and received back $25,525, a 5% yield.Now, let’s plant the second tree. We’ll buy a home for $100,000 and invest $20,000 (as the down payment). For the sake of argument, we’ll assume that the home appreciates at 5% each year, just as the savings account earned 5% interest. At the end of five years, the home will be worth about $128,335, a $28,335 gain (that’s at an annual rate of 5%).

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We all know that homes in many markets across the country experienced substantial gains in appreciation over the last few years of heated real estate activity. While sale prices are currently leveling out, you may have experienced “sticker shock” if you recently got a property tax assessment that shot way up. (more…)

If you’re planning the purchase of your first home, you’re probably experiencing two conflicting emotions – excitement and apprehension. The positive energy from your excitement is an asset in your home search, but the negative energy from your fear of the unknown is a liability you can leave behind once you’re armed with some basic information. (more…)

If there were a health issue in your family, you would turn to your doctor with questions. Likewise, you would consult an attorney if you were facing a legal problem. Chances are, however, that you would first go online to any number of medical or legal websites to familiarize yourself with the issues and get enough information to begin an informed discussion with the professional. (more…)

How would you place a value on your home? More critically, how would you put a price on your home? Sounds like the same question, but it suggests the difference between price and value that’s important to understand as you prepare to sell your home. (more…)

When you start planning to put your home on the market, it’s time to show off! Try to imagine that your in-laws are coming for an extended visit, and then triple the effort you would put into preparing for their arrival. Sellers are competing for offers, and it all starts at your front door – literally. (more…)

Real estate is experiencing an unusual adjustment these days. Unusual, because in the past, sales declined due to either high interest rates or economic slowdowns. Neither of those factors exist right now, so where does the blame lie? (more…)